OVERVIEW: A collection of eerie, mysterious,
intriguing, and very short short stories presented by the cabinet's esteemed
curators, otherwise known as acclaimed authors Stefan Bachmann, Katherine
Catmull, Claire LeGrand, and Emma Trevayne. Perfect for fans of Alvin Schwartz
and anyone who relishes a good creepy read-alone or read-aloud story. Features
an introduction and commentary by the curators, and illustrations and
decorations throughout.

FORMAT: The
Cabinet of Curiosities is an anthology of children's short stories. It
features 36 stories written by four authors and accompanied by illustrations.
All the stories have a horror or sinister theme to them. The anthology stands
at 488 pages and was published May 27, 2014 by Greenwillow Books.

ANALYSIS: It
seems like there has been a shift lately when it comes to anthologies. It used
to be you could walk up to the bookshelf and it would be filled with children's
short story anthology, but over the years that has changed and it became
difficult to find anthologies for children. When there was an anthology, it
wasn't very good. The Cabinet of Curiosities changes all of that and brings the
trend back.

The Cabinet of Curiosities is a packed
with 36 amazing and very creepy children's short stories. The basic theme of
the anthology is several 'curators' of a museum have gathered together to share
the stories behind specific artifacts that have been discovered. Each artifact
can be tied to a theme (love, music, food), which is how it is stored and
classified in the 'museum'.

I will admit that I found the theme of this anthology a bit
confusing. Each of the sections was introduced with a letter from one of the
curators. It was difficult to understand what they were talking about or
referencing. While the theme seems like it would be a good idea on the outside,
it just wasn't executed as well as it should have or could have been.

I think the anthology would have worked just fine without
the goofy letters and silly introductions. I think it didn't work because it
wasn't until literally the end of the book that it all came together – at least
for me. It was like an 'ah ha' moment when it clicked, but it shouldn't take
until the end of an anthology for me to understand the theme.

There is an epilogue to the anthology which gives readers a
brief 'what happened to….. ' look at some of the characters. I really enjoyed
this and really felt it was a unique, extra touch that made the anthology
special.

The slight issue with the theme of the anthology aside, I
found that the vast majority of these stories were really well written. When
reading them, I couldn't help get the feeling that these would make great
read-aloud stories for parents of children. Sure, some of the stories were
really creepy, while others were just slightly scary, but the vast majority
were really, really good.

It should be noted that this anthology – for some adults –
could quickly become dull/predictable. If you were to read all the stories in one
go, it would feel as if there were a lot of very similar stories. Some of the
stories are similar in nature, but I think there is enough diversity that it
keeps children - and most adults - interested.

The following are some of my favorites from this anthology.

Generously Donated By
by Emma Trevayne

Remember all those
field trips you used to go on as a child and were incredibly bored? This short
story tells the tale of one child who is bored on a field trip to a museum, but
what happens to him on this particular trip will make sure he never takes
another field trip for granted again.

The Sandman Cometh
by Claire Legrand

A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's folk tale of Ole
Lukoje, this short story will not disappoint. It has just the right creep
factor to it without going overboard, and it stayed true to the original fairy
tale.

The Book of Bones
by Emma Trevayne

I'm not sure exactly why I loved this short story, but I
did. I felt it was original and really stood out from the other stories. It
wasn't one that was forced into a category or theme, so that might explain why
it was so appealing. It tells the tale of a wizard who is mysteriously digging
up body parts and using them for parts of books. There is a unique little twist
and a creep-tastic ending that I don't want to spoil.

The Cake Made Out of
Teeth by Claire Legrand

A bratty child who gets whatever he wants is finally taught
a lesson in this sinister short story. A young, spoiled child finds a bakery
and demands that he get a cake from there – that looks just like himself. What
happens to him will have you thinking twice about ever ordering a cake that
looks like yourself (if you were planning on doing that!).

Overall, I felt the majority of the stories were well
written. Some of the stories were just run-of-the-mill scary stories, but there
were enough really good ones to make this a good read.

The Cabinet of Curiosities is perfect for reading aloud or for
children who want to read independently. It is certainly ideal for the child
who wants to stray away from the 'bubble gum and gumdrops' children's stories
and venture into the horror genre.

OVERVIEW: The Warriors series meets Redwallin this first book in an epic animal
adventure series set in the subway tunnels of Brooklyn.

Hopper is just an ordinary pet shop mouse before he escapes. Soon he finds
himself below the bustling streets of Brooklyn, deep within the untamed tangles
of transit tunnels, and in Atlantia, a glorious utopian rat civilization.

But all is not what it seems. Though Hopper is treated as a royal guest, he
misses his siblings that he lost in the escape attempt. That, and Atlantia is
constantly threatened by the rebels who wish to bring the city to its knees.
And there are cats everywhere
in Atlantia, cats that leave the citizens unharmed… and no one can
seem to answer why.

Soon, Hopper is caught in the crosshairs of a colossal battle, one that crosses
generations and species. As the clashes rage, Hopper learns terrible,
extraordinary secrets: Deadly secrets about Atlantia. Painful secrets about his
friends.

And one powerful secret about his destiny.

FORMAT: Mouseheart is the first book in a
proposed series. It is a children's adventure/fantasy novel very similar to the
Warrior series and Redwall series. It stands at 320 pages and was published May
20, 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry Books.

ANALYSIS: I have
always had a love for the Redwall series. When I read that Mouseheart was a
combination of Warriors and Redwall, I knew I had to give it a try. What I
ended up reading was a book that in many ways is better than the Redwall
series.

Mouseheart tells the tale of Hopper, a city mouse who finds
himself – and his siblings – unexpectedly thrown into a dark, harsh underground
world. The world happens to be below the streets of Brooklyn and is filled with
storm drains, subway trains, and passengers, but also evil cats and a ragtag
bunch of rebel mice.

Hopper gets separated from his siblings while underground
and he meets Zucker – prince of the mice. And things just seem to spiral into a
world of chaos filled with fighting, betrayal, and lots of mouse kingdom
politics.

Mouseheart on a whole is a very solid, detailed middle grade
novel. The writing and character development is strong. Things are not overly
complex, but they certainly aren't 'dumbed' down. Many times children's books
go with one extreme or another. They are so detailed that even adults have
problems following it, or they are so simple that children get bored.

While I enjoyed the character development, I did get
confused with the main character – Hopper. There seemed to be times when he
didn't understand/get things because he was a pet store mouse, but then he'd
come out with these detailed strategies or say something that was completely
not in line with that character.

I would sometimes thing 'hey, how does this sheltered mouse –
who didn't even know what a subway train was – come up with that'. Maybe I was
being a little too critical of Hopper, but that was honestly the only character
flaw I had with the book.

Mouseheart is filled with several battle/fight scenes, some of
which are extremely detailed. This makes it difficult for me to place a target
age for this book. One of the fight scenes involves a cat who pounces, misses
the mouse, and gets a railing 'gouged' in the eye. The battle scene at the end
is fairly detailed/graphic, too.

I really believe younger children may find it difficult or
uncomfortable reading about this type of violence, especially happening to
animals. The detailed and graphic descriptions of injuries and fighting just
didn't mesh with the simplistic children's nature of the book.

There are obviously more books planned for this series, but
one of the great things about this novel is that it doesn't end with a
cliffhanger. It is obvious that there is more to come, but it doesn't end in a
way that is disappointing or unfair to readers.

Mouseheart is a strong, well-written children's
fantasy/adventure novel. It is sure to be a favorite of those that love the
Warrior series or Redwall series. This is certainly a new spin on the Redwall
series. I truly enjoyed reading this novel. It was fast paced, well written,
and had many elements that adult readers will love.

AUTHOR INFORMATION: James Rollins is a pseudonym for James Czajkowski and is the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of twenty-nine novels including the SIGMA Force, the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novelization, and the Jake Ransom YA books. He also writes fantasy—The Banned and the Banished, The Godslayer Chronicles—under the pen name James Clemens. Besides writing, Jim holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine and is an avid spelunker and certified scuba enthusiast.

OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: A remote military research station sends out a frantic distress call, ending with a chilling final command: Kill us all! Personnel from the neighboring base rush in to discover everyone already dead-and not just the scientists, but every living thing for fifty square miles is annihilated: every animal, plant, and insect, even bacteria. The land is entirely sterile-and the blight is spreading.

To halt the inevitable, Commander Gray Pierce and SIGMA must unravel a threat that rises out of the distant past, to a time when Antarctica was green and all life on Earth balanced upon the blade of a knife. Following clues from an ancient map rescued from the lost Library of Alexandria, SIGMA will discover the truth about an ancient continent, about a new form of death buried under miles of ice.

From millennia-old secrets out of the frozen past to mysteries buried deep in the darkest jungles of today, SIGMA will face its greatest challenge to date: stopping the coming extinction of mankind.

But is it already too late?

FORMAT/INFO: The 6th Extinction is 427 pages long divided over four titled parts, which include thirty-four numbered chapters, a prologue and an epilogue. Also includes Acknowledgments, a map, Notes from the Historical/Scientific Record, and an Author’s Note to Readers: Truth or Fiction. Narration is in the third person via various characters, namely Grayson Pierce, Painter Crowe, Lisa Cummings, Jason Carter, Dr. Kendall Hess, Jenna Beck, Cutter Elwes and a few minor POVs. The 6th Extinction is the eleventh book in the SIGMA series and is a standalone story.

August 12, 2014 marked the North American Hardcover publication of The 6th Extinction via William Morrow. The UK edition (see below) will be published on August 28, 2014 via Orion.

ANALYSIS:The 6th Extinction marks a decade of James Rollins’ amazing combination of scientific fact and adventure thrillers. It’s the tenth entry in the SIGMA series officially but technically is the eleventh book to feature and focus on SIGMA. The series has been going from strength to strength and a couple of books ago (Bloodline), the author managed to complete an arc that had begun with Map Of Bones.

With this book, the author manages to combine a variety of scientific threads involving bioterrorism, XNAs and a bunch of other things that you need to read about. The story begins when a distress call sent from a northern California military research station is heard and then all sentient life around the area is seen to be exterminated. Things soon take some rather dramatic twists as the SIGMA team is forced to visit Antarctica due to certain clues interspersed within the damage. Pierce, Kowalski and Jason Carter (SIGMA’s newest recruit) make up the team sent to South Pole while Lisa Cummings works with her brother try to resolve the crisis in California. Mixed in are the remaining SIGMA crew consisting of Painter Crowe, Kat Howard, and Monk Kokkalis .

The book follows James Rollins' characteristic pattern of action mixed with dollops of scientific intrigue in new locales. This time around, with this being the tenth anniversary of the SIGMA series debut, we are treated to an extra-wild adventure that involves not only the location of one of James’ previous standalone thrillers but also a couple of characters from it. I loved this aspect of the storyline and once again the author manages to combine some rather strange but utterly true factoids amidst the action sequences. With the different locales explored in the story such as Antarctica and the Amazonian rainforests, the author manages to showcase different facets of the landscape. Even though he has previously explored these locales but he again manages to put a new spin on them.

One of the characters that takes a backseat due to the events of The Eye Of God is Seichan and a fiery character as her is surely missed. Another slightly weird aspect was that Jason Carter’s previous experiences in Antarctica never quite get explored. However with the story unfolding at the pace it does, I don’t think the author could insert reminiscing about previous adventure in it. He however does include some fun cameos and gives a rather strong hint about a Subterranean sequel which if he writes, would be simply awesome.

For all that is good with the book, I must point out that previous points that went against the previous book in the series, are still present to a minor degree. One good thing is that this story is more of a standalone nature and that helps majorly for any new readers who don’t want to read all the previous books in the series.

CONCLUSION: James Rollins dazzles massively with his newest SIGMA adventure and if you haven’t read any of his work yet. Then this would be a nice start to the amazing world of SIGMA, with all of its’ exciting science, new locales and the mix of the two that makes his work so unique.

OVERVIEW: All aboard
for an action-packed escapade from the internationally bestselling author of Airborne and the Silverwing trilogy.

The Boundless, the greatest
train ever built, is on its maiden voyage across the country, and first-class
passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the adventure of his life!

When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train car containing priceless
treasures, he becomes the target of sinister figures from his past.

In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus, enlisting the aid of
Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age
who is an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their heels, can Will and
Maren reach Will’s father and save The Boundless before someone winds up dead?

FORMAT: The Boundless is a standalone YA novel. It is an
action-adventure novel that has murder, mystery, and a few historical elements
thrown in. The novel stands at 320 pages and was published by Simon &
Schuster Books for Young Readers on April 22, 2014.

ANALYSIS: Murder, mystery, an occasional Sasquatch, and a
giant circus are all tossed together to create the main storyline for The
Boundless. This adventure-packed YA novel by Kenneth Oppel is
beautifully written and for the right reader, a truly stunning novel.

I have read some of Kenneth Oppel's previous books – mainly the
Matt Cruse series – and realized that Oppel has a very unique style of writing.
The writing is solid and elegant. Oppel uses this style of writing to slowly
develop both characters and plot. Readers will not form 'instant' bonds with
characters, yet will slowly learn to love/cherish them.

The Boundless is no exception to Oppel's previous writing
styles. The Boundless is set on an extremely large train that rivals
some of the cruise ships of today. There is a saloon, pool, fitness room, shoot
gallery, and circus all located on this train. That doesn't even count the
shrine and all its treasures of the man who invented/created this train.

The entire novel follows Will Everett. While traveling on
the very first trip for The Boundless, Will Everett has the
misfortune of witnessing a murder. The murderer quickly sees Will and sets off
to capture him/portray him as a 'bad guy' before Will can tell the authorities.
In order to survive, Will must think on his feet. This includes joining a
circus, spotting who may or may not be on his side, and doing things he never
imagined he'd do in his entire lifetime.

The Boundless does take some time to get into. The story is
slow to advance. There is a lot of time spent developing a backstory, creating
characters, and focusing on the historical aspect of the story. This is not
necessarily bad, but it really will only appeal to a certain type of reader. I
think readers that want a lot of action and adventure will not stick around for
the story.

The highlight of this novel is the train. Oppel does an
amazing job describing the different class sections, the different cars, and
really creating a world on this train. However, the almost sluggish pace of the
novel will take away from this. There were many times when I felt more focus
could have been on characters/plot development, and less on the train. The
train was the real 'main character'.

When characters did do stuff or were introduced, everything
was just so uneventful. The characters seemed to be going through the motions,
as opposed to reacting to situations or really doing anything. I half expected
something to snap and really wake the characters up, but it didn't happen.

Another highlight was the ending. I really felt the ending
was pretty good and I liked the way things turned out. I just wish that the
whole novel had the same appeal/feeling. The ending was amazing, but the
beginning was just 'eh'.

I enjoyed reading The Boundless, but it didn't seem to
have the impact Oppel's other novels did. I walked away feeling 'meh' about the
whole experience. I feel more could have been done with the 'Sasquatch'
character/idea. It had potential, but it came across as a thrown in idea to
make the story appeal to a wider audience. Unfortunately, it just didn't have
the same impact it should have on me.

Overall, I enjoyed The Boundless. Oppel's writing is
amazing and strong, but I don't feel this is by far his best work. The train
was unique and fun to read about, but the slow pace of the novel really took
some of the novel's potential away. The Boundless will appeal to a
certain reader, but in terms of having a wide appeal to a broad audience, I
just do not think it is there.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley, an army from one dying world invades another. Legions of soldiers abound, and if you envision them as men marching with swords and tower shields, you’d be wrong. The legionnaires are women. That’s only the beginning of the expectations Kameron Hurley delights in defying in The Mirror Empire.

Fair-weather fantasy readers who prefer occasional frolics into kiddy-pools of wizardry should stay away. The Mirror Empire, Book I of the Worldbreaker Saga will lose them in a jungle of complexity, and they’ll be eaten alive by rattler trees. The novel will be released with a map and a glossary. Being an advanced-reader pioneer, I had neither. Veteran fantasist though I am, I was perpetually in the state of No I Swear We’re Not Lost, Dear.

This epic features four main characters, each with their own constellation of minor characters who sometimes gain the point of view. The tale spans three nations in one world, with brief jaunts to its mirror world where the sky smolders a poisonous orange. Star magic can be mixed with blood to open portals between the worlds, but a person cannot cross unless her reflection has already died on the other side.

The Mirror Empire is aptly named. A chance difference in the history of the two lands caused a single race of people to become lords in one world and slaves in the other. Before the exodus of the lords from one dying land can begin, the way must be paved with genocide of the slaves. The order of mass execution strikes General Zezili as curious. She may be a sexist killer, but she has her standards.

The female sexism tickled me. After one man rebuffs her advances, Zezili shrugs it off as his problem. He had no sense of humor. She prefers men “take up as little space as possible,” though she is devoted to her husband and only hits him when he deserves it. The culture has none of the tenderness or innovative family structure that I expected from a matriarchy, but Kameron Hurley’s goal is to show women in their full breadth of human experience. She speaks at length on the topic on a recent episode of Podcastle, “We Have Always Fought.”

I loved the visuals in The Mirror Empire. Fireflies dance in lanterns. Warriors ride bears and not in any mundane way. These bears have forked tongues and cat eyes. Other travelers ride giant dogs. Magic users craft the air into gales with swirling sapphire shine. Blue bonsa blades and glowing everpine branches sprout from arms, ready for battle. Most of all, the plant life of the world is breathtaking, and not only because of its paralytic poisons. Bone trees trap creatures and extract their calcium. There are root hooks and creeping deathwart. People are executed in giant pitcher-plants. I would’ve liked the story to take me on an endlessly dangerous safari, but the plants are most often mentioned in passing. To those who live there, they are but part of the scenery.

Lilia uses that foliage to her advantage. She traps her travelling companion in a spine pit, which will slowly digest her and quickly poison her. The thing is, Gian had saved Lilia’s life. Gian said she wanted only to save the world. The two girls might’ve even become lovers, but Gian got in the way of Lilia’s oath to her mother. Lilia, an exile from her home world, betrays most everyone she meets. As a heroine, she kicks aside reader expectation with her mangled foot. I hated her, but, to be fair, I also hate male heroes who torture to achieve their goals. Sometimes, though, I can’t stop reading about them.

The Mirror Empire can captivate with its wordplay, especially its verbs. Candles “drooled” over the table. Eye shadow “licked the faces of the dancers.” Did you envision women dancers? Wrong again. They are men. One word choice did not enchant me: “satellites.” These god stars bestow all the world’s magic. Power wanes and ebbs over the years, decades, and centuries depending on which one shines brightest. They’re like comets, but since they’re called satellites, I always envisioned them as spiky bits of metal with blinking antenna.

Four satellites trail swaths of magic, and the gifted harness them to unleash gouts of fire, to command terror plants, to spin air into armor and bashing gusts. One of the greatest gifted, Maralah, wears a fireglass coat, and she wields a twisty awesome willowthorn sword that glows violet. The gifted aren’t supposed to use their magic to dominate the ungifted, which is hilarious prohibition. A gifted who draws her power from the satellite Oma would is called an omajista. There are three other satellites and as many other kinds of magic users. I was not certain if they had distinct powers because I could never tell them apart (without a glossary). The satellites all have similarly short names that end in –a.

The onslaught of names in The Mirror Empire threatened to overwhelm me. One main character says, “I’m going to bring the bodies to Garika. I’d like Ghrasia to escort me.” When I read those lines I realized a few things. First, I had no idea who either of those characters were. Or even if they were people. Neither was I likely to ever distinguish them because they shared so many of the same letters and sounds.

I was wrong on one front though. I did end up remembering Ghrasia, one of the allies of Ankio. A shepherd scholar, he’s yanked into a position of power. He only wanted to be one the husbands of a local woman. What a delightful twist---for the reader---to learn that she may never have loved him, may have always schemed to manipulate him. Ascending to command requires that he ceremonially eat the remains of the former ruler, his sister. The sensory description of the cannibalism would make G.R.R.M. proud. Wait, did I say the past ruler was his sister? Well, maybe she wasn’t, after all. The rebels who claim he’s an ineffectual usurper may be right. Even if everyone accepted him, he’d chafe in his role. He prefers the passive masculine pronoun. His culture has five different ones for gender. Another nation has three pronouns.

One character lives them all, morphing between genders. Taigan is an assassin spellcaster who may just be immortal. She doesn’t know. Taigan can regenerate from any injury but still feels the agony of being trapped in a spine plant---“Fuck you, Lilia!”---and falls sick like anyone else. She wishes for mortality every time the involuntary gender change wracks his body. Taigan isn’t quite a main character. I’ll keep the identity of the last one a secret.

CONCLUSION: This will be an incomplete review of The Mirror Empire because to fully analyze it would take nothing less than a college semester. Readers who want a sea-depth of immersion in their fantasy will delight in a new universe to explore. Now if you’ll excuse me, I hear the trees have started their summer migration. I’m putting on my safari hat and joining them. Don’t worry, I’ll mind the exploding-acid pods.

GUEST AUTHOR INFORMATION: A.E. Marling is a fantasy writer, dancer, law-abiding citizen, human being (in that order). Discover his fantasy-appreciation blog and follow him on Twitter, @AEMarling, or the kitty gets it.

OVERVIEW: The Luck
Uglies is the first in a tween fantasy-adventure trilogy brimming with legends
come to life, a charming wit, and a fantastic cast of characters-and is imbued
throughout with the magic of storytelling.

Strange things are happening in Village Drowning, and a terrifying encounter
has Rye O'Chanter convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins
have returned.
Now Rye's only hope is an exiled secret society so notorious its name can't be
spoken aloud: the Luck Uglies. As Rye dives into Village Drowning's maze of
secrets, rules, and lies, she'll discover the truth behind the village's
legends of outlaws and beasts...and that it may take a villain to save them
from the monsters.

The first in a series, The Luck Uglies is an altogether irresistible cross of
Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, Stefan Bachmann's The Peculiar, and
Chris Healy's The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, overflowing with
adventure, secrets, friendship, and magic.

FORMAT: The Luck Uglies is the first novel
in a proposed trilogy. It is a middle-grade/YA novel that is setup as a
fantasy-adventure. It stands at 400 pages and was published April 29, 2014 by
HarperCollins.

ANALYSIS: There are so many middle grade/YA novels being
published that it is so hard to find the 'good ones' out there. That isn't to
say that all books are bad, just some are more special than others. The
Luck Uglies by Paul Durham is one of those special books – unique,
fast-paced, and filled with fantasy-adventure.

It seems like everything in this book from the characters to
the world building and pacing is just right. Durham knows how to really draw
and develop a unique world for this story. It might appear to be just another
'ho hum' dreary depressing town, but Durham adds a few elements that makes it
his own.

In addition to the small, unique twists in world building,
Durham is successful in bringing the world to life. I could almost picture
myself in the world and every time I picked the book up, I was magically
transported back to this rather unique world created by Durham. It is the
ability to transport readers to new worlds that truly makes a great book, and
Luck Uglies has that element.

Another captivating feature of The Luck Uglies was the
character development. Readers follow a young 11-year old girl named Rye
throughout most of the story. Rye is full of personality and always has a
surprise for the reader. I found Rye, her entire family, and friends enjoyable
and extremely detailed. Each had their own unique personality and didn't come
across as 'cookie cutter'.

The good guys weren't the only ones to be extremely
detailed. There were several 'bad guys' including Bog Noblins, evil soldiers,
and a selfish ruling Lord. Each of the bad guys were so developed that I have
to admit I was rooting for them to lose. It will be interesting to see where
the other novels go with some of these exact characters.

While The Luck Uglies is a wonderful novel
and I loved every minute of it, it has a lot of parts that could be considered
slower. There are a lot of things that need to be developed – the characters, the
world, and the history between everyone. This could be considered a drawback,
but I view it more as a great setup for the next two novels.

It should be noted that there is a lot going on in this
little 400 page 'tween' novel. There are several storylines and characters that
are all being developed at one point. I think the sheer amount of stuff going
on could be overwhelming to some, but it really is a great way to introduce
readers to the format used by so many fantasy-adventure novels.

Overall, I loved The Luck Uglies. I found myself
wanting to read more as I got further and further into the story. I can't wait
to see where the series goes and how the author takes this series. Truly a must
read for anyone who loves quick, fun fantasy-adventure novels or who are
looking for a good read that isn't super complex.